BHUBANESWAR: Strongly condemning the throwing of shoes on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik while he was addressing an election meeting in Barpali, the ruling BJD pointed fingers at BJP for the act.
“The BJP is resorting to such type of low level tactics as it has become clear that its candidate will face a sure defeat in the by-poll,” Rajya Sabha member and BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said and added that the party has become intolerant after coming to know of the ground situation.
Deb alleged that hurling of shoes was a tactic by the BJP to divert attention from the thin attendance at two election meetings of Union Minister Smriti Irani in the constituency. The Chief Minister was also campaigning for the BJD candidate in Barpali block and Notified Area Council (NAC) on Tuesday.
Stating that the thin attendance at Irani’s meetings compared to huge gatherings at the Chief Minister’s meetings was seen by people all over the State because of direct telecast by different television channels, Deb said hurling of shoes was an act of cowardice. The BJD leader said such an incident had taken place in Balasore recently and the person concerned is campaigning in Bijepur for BJP.
Alleging that the act was pre-planned by BJP, Deb said the party’s flag was recovered from the pocket of the accused after his arrest. Besides, the accused Kartik Meher, who is a BJP worker has admitted that he was persuaded by three persons to throw shoes.Meanwhile, the BJP has condemned the incident. In a statement, State vice-president Samir Mohanty said the person who threw shoes has no links with the BJP. The party does not believe in violence, he added.